Fort Myers son accused of killing mother, burning her body in home

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—A Fort Myers man confessed to shooting his mother, then setting their home on fire, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

George Beemer, 23, told detectives he killed his mother after years of built-up anger, then set the home on fire because, in his words, "she wanted to be cremated." What first came in as a medical call quickly turned into a homicide investigation.

A friend of the victim said she was devastated by the news.

"I was devastated, absolutely devastated, and I can't even stop thinking about it," the friend said. "My oldest put me through hell and back, and I can remember sitting and talking with her. No mother deserves that."

The Lee County Sheriff's Office says Saturday morning started with a 911 call from Beemer reporting chest pains. After he was taken to the hospital, a second 911 call reported a fire at the same home.

When firefighters went inside, they found a severely burned woman dead in the kitchen. The arrest report says a friend told deputies Beemer admitted he killed his mother and set the house on fire.

"It was actually my youngest son who shared the news with both my middle son and me, and our initial reaction was, 'What kind of drugs was he on that day?'" the friend said.

After his arrest, detectives say Beemer confessed to shooting her one time, then pouring gasoline around her body and igniting it. Madison Edwards, Beemer's former classmate, told WINK News she was disturbed when she heard the news.

"We were just completely shocked," Edwards said. "I wasn't surprised that he ended up in jail. I was just very surprised as to the reason why."

In the arrest report, detectives say Beemer claimed his mother had mistreated him for years and alleged she had molested him, telling investigators, "Today was the day he had had enough." The victim's friend said there's no truth to those allegations.

"There's absolutely no way," the friend said. "No, no, absolutely never, never, no. I can't buy it. I will never buy it. He's using it as a defense mechanism to think that there's any remote chance that this was justified."

The friend says this case is a heartbreaking reminder that sometimes parents are forced to make impossible decisions.

"As a mother of a child that has strayed long and continues to, all we can do is love them," the friend said. "Sometimes you have to love them from a distance. I wish that she were strong enough to have done that."

Beemer is now charged with second-degree murder, first-degree arson, and abuse of a dead human body. The Lee County Sheriff's Office says the investigation remains active.